Safety side



J. A. coNsTANTl 3,032,781

May 8, 1962 SAFETY SIDE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 5l, 1958 \u 42 ,o/ 12 le 14 /of 24 24 mvENToR.

JAMES A. CONSTANT: BY

//wv, man/,M4 ATT YS,

May 8, 1962 J. A. coNsTANTl SAFETY SIDE 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 51, 1958 INVENTOR.

JAMES A. CONSTANT! ATTYS.

/wu @Lf/M lm May 8, 1962 J. A. CONSTANT; 3,032,781

SAFETY SIDE Filed March C51, 1958 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 i m S" '1| /l/ 54 22 I4 IO INVENTOR.

JAMES A. CONSTANT:

ATTYS.

latent 3,032,781 Patented May 8, 1962 3,032,781 SAFETY SIDE James A. Constanti, Menlo Park, Calif., assgnor to Simmons Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Mar. 31, 1958, Ser. No. 725,399 3 Claims. (Cl. 5-331) This invention relates to side guards for hospital beds or the like, and is vparticularly concerned with features thereof which accommodate side guards to beds of varying length and extend the usefulness of the side guards over those known in the prior art.

While it is generally common to provide bed-length side guard structures which are movable from an upstanding guard position above the level of the supporting surface of the bed to a lower storage position to provide access to the bed, and in other cases to provide halfguards which are usually employed only at the sides of the head end portion of the bed, there are conditions of treatment, status of the patient, and broader utility of equipment which make it desirable to have a side guard structure which may be employed at will as a barrier fully co-extensive with the patient-supporting surface, or as a barrier along only the head-end or foot-end portion of the bed.

Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a side guard structure which may be employed as a fulllength barrier along the side of a bed, which will accommodate itself to beds of varying length, and in which the ends of the side guard, or at least one of them, may be raised or lowered independently to position the side guard diagonally at the side of the bed and extending above the patient-supporting surface thereof for approximately half its length.

Other. objects of the invention will become apparent, and the invention will be understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURES l and 2 are side elevational views of a side guard structure in accordance with the invention, mounted on the side of a hospital bed, showing in full line the raised and lowered positions of the side guard, and in broken line the alternative half guard positions it may assume;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary elevational view of one end of the side guard structure shown in FIGURES l and 2;

FIGURE 3A is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken on the line 31A-3A of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 4 is an end elevational view of the side guard structure partially broken away yfor greater clarity of illustration;

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of one end of the side guard structure; and

FIGURE 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 6-6 of FIGURE 4, and illustrating the movable connection between the side guard and its mounting.

Briey, a side guard structure in accordance with the invention is one which is both pivotally and slidably mounted at its ends or at widely spaced points therealong, upon supports which are preferably removably secured to a bedstead. The structure includes at least one connection between the various component parts or portions thereof which is slidable or otherwise movable in the endwise direction of the bed in order to permit the ends of the side guard to be raised and lowered independently.

In the preferred form of the invention illustrated, this sliding connection is made between two sections of the guard panel itself, which, as indicated, are joined telescopically at the midpoint of the guard panel. Similarly, in the refinements of the preferred embodiment illustrated, the mounting of the side guard panel at its ends includes a guide rod which is secured vertically to the bedstead and is encompassed by a sleeve-like carriage to which the side guard is pivoted on an axis transverse of the-bed, and is thereby movable up and down on the guide rod. This carriage arrangement permits the incorporation into the pivot mounting of a releasable lock for maintaining the ends of the guard panel in the upper position.

Referring now to FIGURES 1 and 2 for a more detailed description, the side guard structure includes a guard panel 10 which is preferably fabricated of metal tubing in two sections 12 and 14 which are telescopically interconnected. The sliding connection between the two panels is made between the upper and lower rails thereof by means of smaller diameter tubes or rods 16 or the like, which may be secured in any convenient way in the upper and lower rails of one of the sections 14 and have a freely sliding or slip t in the complementary rails of the other section 12.

As shown, the upper and lower rails of each section may be formed by bending a single tube, and are preferably interconnected in the area of the slip-joints by means of tubular uprights 18. A ller rail 20 extending lengthwise of each panel section divides the open area of the section. The filler rail 20 is not primarily a structural member, and may be replaced by any suitable filler in accordance with design preference.

At each end, the guard panel 10 is slidably and pivotally mounted upon a support which, as indicated generally in FIGURES l and 2, and more particularly in FIGURES 3, 4 and 5, comprises a guide rod 22 disposed vertically of the bedstead and secured at top and bottom to lugs or brackets 24 which in turn are secured to a mounting bar 26. The guide rod 22 is preferably of tubular construction for lightness, as indicated in FIG- URE 6, and the mounting bar 26 may be of similar construction.

Welded to the mounting bar 26 is an upper hook 28 which is adapted to engage an appropriately positioned stud 30 on the end frame 32 of the bedstead. Similarly welded to the mounting bar, in its lower portion,

is a lug 34 having a horizontally disposed, open-ended slot 36 which encompasses a threaded stud 33 on the end frame of the bedstead. With this form of attachment, the mounting bar 26 is secured to the end frame of the bedstead by first engaging the upper hook 23 with the stud 30, and then swinging the lower lug 34 into place with its open-ended slot 36 encompassing the lower, threaded stud 38. A hand nut 40 on the lower stud 38 may then be tightened to fasten the mounting bar securely to the bedstead.

The guard panel proper is mounted on a movable carriage which takes the form of a metal sleeve 4Z fabricated from round tubing, which is slidable up and down on the guide rod 22. Securely welded to the sleeve 42 (see FIGURE 6) perpendicularly thereto, is a short hollow trunnion 44 on which the end of the guard panel is pivotally mounted. At the point of its attachment to the carriage, the tubular end of the guard panel is flattened on its front side (for reasons which will be described later) and is provided with an interior bushing 46 secured to the tube by welding, and in which the trunnion 44 of the carriage 42 is rotatably received to complete the pivotal the guide rod 22.

pivot relative to the carriage, as is required when the opposite end of the guard panel is left in place, or moved up or down at a different rate, or even in the opposite direction. As the guard panel becomes tilted as a result of this independent or diierential movement, the changing linear distance between the points of pivotal attachment of the ends of the panel to their respective carriages is accommodated by the telescoping joint at the middle of the guard panel.

While the combination of the sleeve-like carriage 42 and guide rod 22 are preferred for various reasons including the placementof the pivotal connection of the panel to the carriage, and the incorporation of the locking mechanism, still to be described, it will be understood that the specific form of sliding, pivoting connection of the panel to the bedstead is not essential to the invention in its broader aspects, and may take several alternative forms, e.g., the guide rod might be eliminated as such and a movable carriage slidably housed within a hollow guide bar, suitably slotted, or the connections may be reversed, i.e., the carriage may be pivotally supported on the bedstead and have a sliding relationship to the guard panel.

In the preferred embodiment illustrated, the ends of the guard panels are retained at the upper position by a releasable detent Sil which may conveniently be housed within the trunnion 44, as shown in FIGURE 6. The detent is of the plunger type having a rounded nose portion 52 adapted for entry into a hole 54 in the wall of A shoulder 56 at the base of the nose portion 52 engages the outer surface of the guide rod 22 to limit the entry of the detent. A compression spring 58 surrounding the shank 6i) of thel detent, and confined between the shoulder 56 and the inner' face of the screw cap 48, urges the detent into the hole in the guide rod and prevents unintentional disengagement.

A handle in the form of a tapered pull 62 is secured by means of a screw 64 to the outer end of the detent 50. As shown in FIGURES 5 and 6, the tubular end of the guard panel 1i) is flattened sufficiently lso that the detent handle 62, while remaining readily accessible, will not constitute a clothes-catching obstruction to passers-by, nor be particularly susceptible to damage by striking the sides of doorways or the like when the bed or side guard is moved.

ln a guard panel having the proportions shown, a single upper position is considered adequate to normal use of the device, but intermediatepositions may be provided for by increasing the number of positioning holes S4 in the guide rod 22. Near its lower end, the front face of each guide rod 22 is indented to provide a sloping- Wall recess 55 (see FIGS. 3 and 3A) into which the rounded nose 52 of the detent S8 is received at the 10W- ered position of the panel 10. This permits the detent handle 62 to assume the same unobtrusive position when the panel is fully down as when it is fully up (FIG. 6), and yet they sloping walls of the recess 55 cam the detent out of the recess automatically as the panel is raised, e1iminating the need for manipulation of the detents in that operation.

Referring to FIGURE 6, it may be understood that the relationship of square guide rod Z2 and round sleeve 42 limits the running contact between the guide rodand the sleeve, which, together with the free adjustment of the sleeve to the guide rod permitted by the placement of the trunnion 44 radially of the sleeve 42, eliminates any tendency toward binding on the guide rods during differential or independent movement of the ends of the guard panels.

Referring to FIGURES 1 and 2, the bed to which the side guard is mounted may comprise head and foot end frames 32 connected by longitudinally extending side rails 66 upon which there may be mounted the usual'artculated bed spring 68 which is shown only to the extent necessary to indicate generally its level relative to the guard panel. A mattress 7l), supported upon the bed spring, will have its upper surface disposed approximately at the level of the lower edge of the panel when the latter is fully raised. When either end of the panel is lowered independently, the guard panel will constitute a barrier extending along approximately half the length of the upper surface of the' mattress, depending upon the thickness of the mattress vand the proportions of the guard panel.

From the foregoing it will be seen thatV a 'side guard structure in accordance with the invention will accommodate itself to beds of varying length, and by reason of its sliding and pivoting rmountings, and the endwise slidable connections between certain of its parts, may assume a half-guard position, i.e., remain a barrier along approximately half the length of the bed at either end thereof, as may be suitable to the status of the patient or condition of treatment. Moreover the specific nature of the pivoting-sliding mounting of the panel in the preferred embodiment of the invention provides ease of Operation and economical construction.

The features of the invention believed new and patentable are set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A side yguard structure for beds comprising an elongated guard panel-of bed length composed of two endwise telescoping sections, an elongated guide member at each end of said guard panel adapted to be secured vertically to a bedstead at the ends thereof, a slide carried on each said guide member and movable up and down therealong, said guard panel being pivoted at its ends to said slides on horizontal axes, whereby said ends may be raised or lowered in unison or independently, and independent releasably interengageable means on said slide and guide members for selectively retaining either or both'of the ends of said guard panel in upper positions on said guide members.

2. A side guard structure for beds comprising an elongated lguard. panel of bed length comprising two endwise telescoping sections, anelongated guide rod at eachV end of said guard panel adapted to be secured vertically to a bedstead at the ends thereof, a sleeve carried on each said guide rod vvand slidable upand down thereon, a hollow trunnion secured to said sleeve perpendicularly thereto, said guard panel being pivoted at its ends on said trunnions on axes transverse to the bed whereby said ends may be raised or lowered in unison or independently, and a spring-loaded detent in said trunnion releasably engageable with saidf guide rod for selectively retaining either or both of the ends of said panel in upper positions on said guide rods.

3. A side guard structure for beds comprising an elongated guard panel of bed length, support means at each end of said guard panel ladapted to be secured to a bedstead at the ends thereof, said ,guard panel being vertically slidably and pivotally connected about a horizontal axis to said support means for up and down movement of its ends relative thereto, said structure including an endwise sliding connection to accommodate independent up land down movement of the ends of said guard panel, and independent releasably engageable detent means for selectively retainingv either or both ends of said guard panel in upper positions on said support means.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,234,804 Reynolds July 31, 1917y 2,048,955 Showalter July 28, 1936 2,624,055 Rude Ian. 6, 1953 2,686,922 La Vigne VAug.'24, 1954 2,811,726 Dyett et al. Nov. 5, 1957 2,835,475 Enghauser May 20, 1958 2,871,490 Balonick Feb. 3, 1959 

